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Originally, Asgard was a Terran Alliance colony[1] and was one of the colonies abandoned as a result of the Demarcation Declaration of 2240. When DirectorShiro Kurita of the Alliance of Galedon conducted a year-long tour of worlds near the Alliance in 2309-2310, he included both independent worlds such as Asgard and worlds controlling small states. Director Kurita brought with him evidence purporting to show that one or more of the small states nearby had designs on conquering Asgard, and offered to mediate between Asgard and its opponents. He also offered to protect Asgard by allowing Asgard to join the Alliance, thereby allying itself with a stronger power.[4]

Asgard accepted this proposal in 2309,[1] not realising that Director Kurita had invented the evidence and deliberately played a number of small states and worlds off against each other to dramatically expand the size of the Alliance.[4] The worlds of Dieron and Altair were responsible for Director Kurita's subterfuge coming to light, when in June 2311 a dispute broke out between the two; each called on its great ally only to discover that they were both allied with Director Shiro Kurita. Each planetary ruler discovered that they had been promised the same things, and word soon spread to the other planets seduced by Director Kurita's diplomatic campaign.[5]

Of all the worlds that had been tricked, those that took the greatest offense were the rulers of Asgard, Benjamin and Telos IV. Furious at having been manipulated and feeling betrayed, the three became increasingly hostile; Director Kurita responded by gathering together a thousand or more dignitaries and ruling lords from the northeast quadrant of the Inner Sphere to the Council of One summit in September 2311. He spoke passionately to those present of the need for cooperation between the worlds of the region for the betterment of all, and then called for a vote on his proposal of alliance. Those dignitaries who voted in favor departed safely; those who didn't were executed by the two companies of crack troops assembled around the summit by Shiro's brother Urizen Kurita before being shipped back to their next of kin.[5]

With the Council of One dispensed with, Director Kurita deployed both the Alliance of Galedon fleet and his land forces to the conquest of Asgard, Benjamin and Telos IV. The troops landed that same September and began attempts to subdue the population. The inhabitants of Asgard were determined to retain their freedom and resisted bitterly, adopting the same guerilla tactics used effectively by various worlds during the Outer Reaches Rebellion a century before. Director Kurita used every method at his disposal short of weapons of mass destruction, and the casualties on both sides were enormous, but eventually the three worlds were forced to capitulate, with Asgard surrendering in August 2312.[5][1]

In February of 3052, Clan Smoke Jaguar attacked Asgard during the Fifth Wave of Operation REVIVAL. The attack, led by the Nineteenth Striker Cluster and Fourth Jaguar Dragoons, met strong resistance from the Third Benjamin Regulars as soon as they made planetfall with the opening of a continuous artillery bombardment. This forced the invaders to conduct a night march to escape the bombardment, arriving at the city of Vernan a full day before the defenders had expected them. In the fierce battle which followed the Third's heavy and assault 'Mechs tied up the Jaguars, allowing the rest of the regiment to withdraw to secondary defensive lines near the rock formation Odin's Retreat. There they dug in and held the line over the course of an entire month of combat. In the end, assault elements of the Fourth Jaguar broke through and rolled up the Third Regulars' western flank, forcing them to pull back across the Ragnarok Plains in a fighting retreat all the way to their DropShips. Little more than a battalion's worth of the Third Regulars managed to escape off-world.[7] After they were conquered, the citizens of Asgard remained willing to fight for their freedom, despite generations of brain-washing under Kuritan leadership.[1]

Asgard has five continents, the most notable of which is Muspell, as well as a number of island chains. Amongst the significant geological regions on Muspell are the Odin's Retreat mountains, a chain described as "formidable"; the Ragnarok Plains begin in the foothills of Odin's Retreat.[1]